If he said what he said, in that context, then I don't understand what he is on about.

Did he expect McLaren to jump on the opportunity to get him? With little financial backup (McLaren has no money problem as pointed out above, however I doubt anyone would say no to money coming in), after a second year in the sport that he failed to shine, even failed beating his team mate. He got the same points (well, one more) with Maldonado, who failed to score in 15 races this year! 15! He should really concentrate to his driving, before talking about the others.

Perez had a great year overall, even if his year end wasn't as strong. He outshone his (very good) team mate, got podiums, brought the points.

At the very least, he should have been a bit more thoughtful, I doubt his PR department would be happy with this

I can't understand the attitude towards Paul on these forums sometimes, I can only assume it's because he's British. If it was a young Italian or Spanish hotshot we'd be praising his Mediterranean temperament and confidence in his own abilities, but because he's British he's not allowed to be confident and outspoken.

Potential sponsors aren't going to mind these statements, they show ambition!

He does need to prove himself this year, but I think he will. Opinions on driver abilities change from race to race, but I think he will silence a few doubters this year, at least enough to justify his confidence, which seems to rub some people up the wrong way!

I don't like him because when he opens his gob he sounds like a bit of a tool bag half the time and he has a lot of misplaced confidence in himself that seems to stem from the fact he beat Vettel once a long time ago now.

Paul Di Resta has been at the Autosport international and they have written a few articles about what he has said which includes

- Di Resta held initial talks with McLaren about a 2013 seat- Di Resta was suggested to Force India by Martin Whitmarsh- Di Resta is determined to get a seat at a top team in 2014- Di Resta thinks that Perez beat him to the seat due to money (which Perez tweeted that money can create opportunity but results are all that matter at the end of the day)- Di Resta is surprised that Force India are taking so long to confirm his team mate

I remember that Mallya had a go at Sutil a couple of years ago because he was being open about talking to other teams and not showing loyalty to Force India... I am a fan of Di Resta and actually think he did really well to out perform the Force India at the beginning of 2012 at least. But considering he has not even been officially confirmed by Force India as a driver for next season, he is being rather ungrateful!

Thoughts?

I guess at the time di Resta was first being considered his results were quite good relative to his teammate, but given how his season finished i'd be quite happy to still be in F1 if i was him to prove myself once more, like Perez himself has said his results were better than di Resta plus he managed to beat his teammate as well.

I guess its better to have total belief in yourself than not, things like blaming set up when your teammate is quicker, blaming the tyres for suiting the more agressive style of your teammate when he beats you over the course of the season, these things all colluded against you to hide just how good you really are.

Everybody here uses everything possible to rationalize less than stellar results from their favorites, but for Paul he's just not as good as his teammate? His car was garbage for the first part of the season, he had a grid penalty to go along with his best ever qualifying result, management drama (in court no less), he undoubtedly had the worse strategy in almost every round, made few mistakes, was good on the tires when asked to be, and ended up what 9-11 against his teammate? Most of the rounds he finished ahead of his teammate in were in the beginning of the year when the car was worse. So many people here are all about who gets better performance out of a bad car, and Paul gets cut no slack I think he has every right to the expectations his statements indicate he has or had. Having drivers that put no public pressure on the team and just smile and relish the opportunity doesn't really do Force India, or any team in their position, any favors. They are stuck somewhere between filling their seats with new hot shoes and stacking the seats with has beens or never were's. I wish they'd put their eggs in someone's basket and really have a go at something rather than this noncommittal waffling they have always done. It trickles down from the management style right into the race strategies. Bleh.

I can't understand the attitude towards Paul on these forums sometimes, I can only assume it's because he's British. If it was a young Italian or Spanish hotshot we'd be praising his Mediterranean temperament and confidence in his own abilities, but because he's British he's not allowed to be confident and outspoken.

Potential sponsors aren't going to mind these statements, they show ambition!

He does need to prove himself this year, but I think he will. Opinions on driver abilities change from race to race, but I think he will silence a few doubters this year, at least enough to justify his confidence, which seems to rub some people up the wrong way!

I don't like him because when he opens his gob he sounds like a bit of a tool bag half the time and he has a lot of misplaced confidence in himself that seems to stem from the fact he beat Vettel once a long time ago now.

I can't understand the attitude towards Paul on these forums sometimes, I can only assume it's because he's British. If it was a young Italian or Spanish hotshot we'd be praising his Mediterranean temperament and confidence in his own abilities, but because he's British he's not allowed to be confident and outspoken.

Potential sponsors aren't going to mind these statements, they show ambition!

He does need to prove himself this year, but I think he will. Opinions on driver abilities change from race to race, but I think he will silence a few doubters this year, at least enough to justify his confidence, which seems to rub some people up the wrong way!

I don't like him because when he opens his gob he sounds like a bit of a tool bag half the time and he has a lot of misplaced confidence in himself that seems to stem from the fact he beat Vettel once a long time ago now.

It has nothing to do with nationality.

Ah...so you're just bashing. That makes it all okay.

Nope. That's my opinion of him. He's too arrogant and he needs bringing down a peg or two.

Maybe accept that people aren't going to like every driver on the grid and move on. Nationality plays no part in this whatsoever though. He could be from the moon for all I care.

Firstly, we are getting rather tired of reminding people that accusations of trolling, hating, bashing and fanboyism are against the rules.

Secondly, this thread is supposed to be about di Resta. We appreciate that some threads may take natural detours in discussion, but we know one has strayed too far from the path when the Nazis come into it

He wants a drive in a top team but which driver doesn't ? He feels he deserves one as he thinks he's driven well enough to earn one. While that can be debated I personally think he has not and that this isn't disrespectful but perhaps he should be a little subtle the way he goes about discussing such things is all ...I suppose whether he has been disrespectful or not can be deemed as being subjective depending on ones morals as well.

The problem with Di Resta was that he was over hyped by much of the British media (especially Coulthard). I remember when people where rating Di Resta as the top rookie (for some reason) but since the McLaren drive left, his hype has come to a drastic halt.

Yeah, that was funny. I remember when Luiz Razia (GP2 runner-up in 2012) was a guest BBC commentator in FP2 in Brazil in 2011. David Croft asked who was rookie of the season, Razia said Perez. Crofty's response was so funny: 'whaaaat? that surely has to be Paul di Resta' - it sounded like there was only once correct answer and Razia made a horrible thing expressing his own opinion

The problem with di Resta is not what he is saying, but what he is saying after what he has done.

And what he has done so far? Little and even that was achieved in a boring way. 6th in Singapore in 2011? Nothing more than just driving. 6th in Bahrain last year? The same. 4th in Singapore? Again, exactly the same thing, simply driving from start to finish.

On the other hand you have Perez who is making brave call and then catching and attacking the leader in Malaysia or is coming through the field in Canada or Italy. And Hulk who is racing with the leaders in Brazil, or attacking and defending in Korea or USA.

That is what excites people - racing, not just driving. di Resta not only lost in 2 seasons to their teammates, but also is driving in boring way, collecting points and not generating any excitment on track. Yet every time he opens his mouth, he is talking like he's exciting talent, about whom everyone is talking about and who should be driving for top team, not some peasants like Force India. That is disrespectful.

Di Resta had a bad end of season yes, but he could had so easyly been in that Mclaren had the safety car period not happened at Singapore...

I think Hulk and Di Resta were 50/50 in the end, Paul smoked Nico at the start of the year and it flipped over at the end.

McLaren didn't want two British drivers again. The only reason Ham/Button was appealing was that they were both WDC. Di Resta had no chance at McLaren. Besides Perez talks were either very close to completion or completed in Singapore.

Di Resta had a bad end of season yes, but he could had so easyly been in that Mclaren had the safety car period not happened at Singapore...

I think Hulk and Di Resta were 50/50 in the end, Paul smoked Nico at the start of the year and it flipped over at the end.

McLaren didn't want two British drivers again. The only reason Ham/Button was appealing was that they were both WDC. Di Resta had no chance at McLaren. Besides Perez talks were either very close to completion or completed in Singapore.

Is there a source for that? They played on the british driver thing quite a lot; their team caps while the Olympics and World Cup were on had Union Flags on the back. It also, at least amongst the people I know, meant Mclaren had a huge fan base amongst the casual fan who followed either Button or Hamilton because they were British. I'd love to see some stats on merchandise sales over the past 3 years compared to say 8 years ago when they had Kimi and Montoya, I'd wager they'd be pretty sweet.

Di Resta had a bad end of season yes, but he could had so easyly been in that Mclaren had the safety car period not happened at Singapore...

I think Hulk and Di Resta were 50/50 in the end, Paul smoked Nico at the start of the year and it flipped over at the end.

McLaren didn't want two British drivers again. The only reason Ham/Button was appealing was that they were both WDC. Di Resta had no chance at McLaren. Besides Perez talks were either very close to completion or completed in Singapore.

Is there a source for that? They played on the british driver thing quite a lot; their team caps while the Olympics and World Cup were on had Union Flags on the back. It also, at least amongst the people I know, meant Mclaren had a huge fan base amongst the casual fan who followed either Button or Hamilton because they were British. I'd love to see some stats on merchandise sales over the past 3 years compared to say 8 years ago when they had Kimi and Montoya, I'd wager they'd be pretty sweet.

Can you really see Di Resta matching Hamilton's sales figures worldwide or in the UK? Marketing wise Di Resta is dull as dishwater right now. Perez helps them tap into the Mexican (and South American) market, a growing and enthusiastic market behind only one driver, very nicely.

The Hamilton fans will most likely follow him to Merc, Button fans will stay Button fans and that leaves no one for Di Resta. It's like Mean Girls with fans instead of candy canes.

Di Resta had a bad end of season yes, but he could had so easyly been in that Mclaren had the safety car period not happened at Singapore...

I think Hulk and Di Resta were 50/50 in the end, Paul smoked Nico at the start of the year and it flipped over at the end.

McLaren didn't want two British drivers again. The only reason Ham/Button was appealing was that they were both WDC. Di Resta had no chance at McLaren. Besides Perez talks were either very close to completion or completed in Singapore.

Is there a source for that? They played on the british driver thing quite a lot; their team caps while the Olympics and World Cup were on had Union Flags on the back. It also, at least amongst the people I know, meant Mclaren had a huge fan base amongst the casual fan who followed either Button or Hamilton because they were British. I'd love to see some stats on merchandise sales over the past 3 years compared to say 8 years ago when they had Kimi and Montoya, I'd wager they'd be pretty sweet.

Can you really see Di Resta matching Hamilton's sales figures worldwide or in the UK? Marketing wise Di Resta is dull as dishwater right now. Perez helps them tap into the Mexican (and South American) market, a growing and enthusiastic market behind only one driver, very nicely.

The Hamilton fans will most likely follow him to Merc, Button fans will stay Button fans and that leaves no one for Di Resta. It's like Mean Girls with fans instead of candy canes.

Massa and Pastor are from South America, Perez is not. Other than that, you have my blessings.

Di Resta had a bad end of season yes, but he could had so easyly been in that Mclaren had the safety car period not happened at Singapore...

I think Hulk and Di Resta were 50/50 in the end, Paul smoked Nico at the start of the year and it flipped over at the end.

McLaren didn't want two British drivers again. The only reason Ham/Button was appealing was that they were both WDC. Di Resta had no chance at McLaren. Besides Perez talks were either very close to completion or completed in Singapore.

Is there a source for that? They played on the british driver thing quite a lot; their team caps while the Olympics and World Cup were on had Union Flags on the back. It also, at least amongst the people I know, meant Mclaren had a huge fan base amongst the casual fan who followed either Button or Hamilton because they were British. I'd love to see some stats on merchandise sales over the past 3 years compared to say 8 years ago when they had Kimi and Montoya, I'd wager they'd be pretty sweet.

Can you really see Di Resta matching Hamilton's sales figures worldwide or in the UK? Marketing wise Di Resta is dull as dishwater right now. Perez helps them tap into the Mexican (and South American) market, a growing and enthusiastic market behind only one driver, very nicely.

The Hamilton fans will most likely follow him to Merc, Button fans will stay Button fans and that leaves no one for Di Resta. It's like Mean Girls with fans instead of candy canes.

Massa and Pastor are from South America, Perez is not. Other than that, you have my blessings.

Oh no I know that but Perez seems pretty popular in South America too. Perhaps even some Americans will take a shine to him. Who knows but that area of the world has just opened up for McLaren.

No doubt he wants a top drive, which I don't find disrespectful, but he hasn't proven he is any better than any of the newest drivers in the sport. To me he is probably the most anonymous driver in the midfield, or maybe even the entire grid. He better raise his game this season, because he is not at the yard stick yet!